Does this sound familiar?

Me: “What do you want people to take away from this?”

Other person: “That X,Y, and Z are happening”

Me: “So why don’t you just say that?”

I must go through this process at least ten times a day.

Sometimes I’ll ask it when reviewing a slide.  There will be a lot of data, charts, graphs, bullets, and just about anything else you can imagine cramming on.

I’ll ask the slide’s author what the audience is supposed to take away.

They’ll usually say something simple like, “Our competitors are killing us on our key product”.

But that point is nowhere to be seen.

It’s not just slides. I go through this same process when people make an argument for a recommendation, ask me to review an email, or pretty much anytime someone is trying to make a point.

For some reason, we don’t often actually state our point. We dance around it.  We provide data and other evidence, but leave the conclusion up in the air.

Don’t leave understanding to chance.

If you have a point, let people know simply and directly.

Doing so will speed up decision-making and drive action.

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Brad Kolar is an executive consultant, speaker, and author with Avail Advisors.  Avail can help you simplify your decisions, data, and communication.  You can reach Brad at brad.kolar@availadvisors.com